There's Ice in My Soup
by gloriouscommunistcoat
Summary: Karkat seems to be hung up on a boy he met working at a flower shop. Human/Flower Shop AU. Rated M for sexual content to come.
1. The Boy at the Flower Shop: Part One

**Hey, this is Chisel, the primary editor for this account.  
This story was originally published here: s/9939550/1/There-s-Ice-in-My-Soup  
Now that Plushiesformone has an editor (that would be me), we'll be using this joint account to publish stories from now on.  
Thanks, and enjoy the story,**

**-Chisel**

* * *

Karkat slammed open the door to the flower shop, making it ring a sickening jingle as he stomped in. Fucking Sollux and his need for flowers, God damn asshole couldn't even get his own without breaking into pathetically weak tears. It was disgusting. Grumbling to himself as he looked over the much too bright flowers, the short boy looked around, finding them all to be completely irritating. How was he even convinced to get them for his 'friend' anyway? Oh right, he offered to buy him tickets to that new movie coming out. Fuck him and his money.

Slowly walking around the rows of flowers, Karkat was told he was looking for violets; only problem was that he had no fucking clue what those looked like at all. How was he supposed to know different types of flowers anyway? That was just stupid. This was all stupid. Who would open a flower shop anyway? You could just pick perfectly fine flowers out in a field. Grumbling all of this to himself, Karkat almost ran head-on into another boy, slightly taller, with a very dorky smile to his face.

John, noticing that he had almost run smack into what he figured was a customer and not another homeless person looking for some water, or something like that. Though, he didn't look like a homeless person, even if he was looking very angry... which John thought was pretty cute in a very much not homosexual way.

"Hi there! Can I help you with anything?" John asked, smiling in a way that made Karkat's gut twist. No one could be that happy working in a flower shop. No one.

Yet for some reason that nerdy little voice made his heart flutter as he turned to glare up at the boy, a prominent frown fixed on his face. "Where the fuck are your violets?" Karkat hissed, narrowing his eyes at the boy, who didn't seem fazed by it at all; he just kept smiling down at him.

"Oh! Right over here, follow me!" John was soon hurrying off between some flowers, moving easily through the leaves and the blooming buds, where Karkat nearly stumbled a good few times, and was practically panting by the time they arrived at the rows upon rows of little purple flowers. More than a bit thankful that he didn't have to wander around this store that smelled sickeningly like morning dew, the angry boy grabbed the flowers and started to head to the cash without so much of a thank you... not that John minded, or at least, it didn't look like he minded; he was just still smiling that dorky grin of his.

Why was he so happy anyway? For some reason it was really bothering Karkat, it just made his glaring more intense as he ended up standing at the cash register, just staring the other young man down.

"So, uhh, cash or credit?" John was the one to finally break the silence; he was getting a little uncomfortable with all this angry staring. Did he have a big 'fuck you' written on his forehead again? God damn it, if Dave had pulled something like that again he was seriously going to kill him. Thankfully, though, Karkat seemed to snap out of it all and pulled out his wallet, paying for it in cash, and then stomping out of the store back to the house he shared with his moping roommate.

-Later that night-

It was bad enough that he actually had to go out in the morning on his day off, but now he found himself rolling about in bed, trying to get at least a minute of sleep before having to wake up and go to his almost useless low paying job the next morning. Giving a low growl into his pillow, Karkat shoved his head under it, closing his eyes tightly and trying to force sleep upon himself. It just wasn't working, however, as every time he shut his eyes he ended up seeing that stupid derp of a smile haunting his mind.

"FUCK THIS," he finally yelled, sitting up in his bed and flinging his pillow across the room; it was obvious he wasn't getting any sleep. Getting out of bed, he made his way to the shower, a little more quietly than his normal stomping around, as he didn't want to have to deal with a woken Sollux. Quickly slipping in, he turned the heat all the way up and focused on the burning feeling rather than remembering that boy's face. Why did the mere thought of him send his heart into weird skips anyway? Had his stupid face suddenly caused a heart condition in him? He didn't understand.

Finally stepping out of the shower, Karkat moved over to his laptop, starting it up and checking the time: three in the morning... wonderful. Deciding to log into his chat system, he browsed to see who was online. He found only one who always had his icon set to 'online', so who even fucking knew if he was there. It was all a 'miracle' if he was, as he so often told him.

**carcinoGeneticist** started trolling **terminallyCapricious:**

**CG: HEY FUCKTARD. YOU BETTER FUCKING BE ON FOR ONCE.**

**TC: Oh HeLlO tHeRe My MoThErFuCkIn BeSt BrO.**

**CG: OH HOLY HELL YOU'RE ACTUALLY ON THIS LATE.**

**CG: WOW.**

**TC: It'S a MoThErFuCkIn MiRaCle!**

**CG: YEAH YEAH. SURE. WHATEVER. LOOK, I HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM.**

**CG: WELL I HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS, SO SHUT UP.**

**TC: HaHa, DiDn'T sAy A fUcKiNg ThInG bRo.**

**CG: WHATEVER! JUST SHUT YOUR FUCKING PIE HOLE FOR A MOMENT, WOULD YOU?**

**CG: I CANT FUCKING SLEEP, IF YOUR 'HIGH AS FUCKING RAINBOWS' MIND HASN'T NOTICED, IT'S THREE IN THE FUCKING MORNING.**

**CG: I HAVE TO GET TO MY SHITTY JOB IN THE MORNING, AND I CANT FUCKING SLEEP, BECAUSE I KEEP THINKING OF THIS DICKWAD I SAW AT THE FLOWER SHOP!**

**TC: MaN, tHaT sUcKs.**

**TC: WhAt'S gOt YoUr MoThErFuCkIn hEaD aLl In A pAnIc AbOuT iT?**

**CG: IF I FUCKING KNEW THAT THEN I WOULDN'T BE ASKING YOUR DRUGGED OUT ASS ABOUT IT NOW WOULD IT?**

**CG: ALL THAT SHIT IS FUCKING WITH YOUR THINK PAN.**

**CG: ALL I KNOW IS THAT THINKING ABOUT HIM MAKES MY HEART FUCKING PALPITATE OR SOME CRAP, MAYBE HIS DORKINESS IS GIVING ME A HEART CONDITION.**

**TC: NaH mAn.**

**TC: I kNoW tHe PrObLem.**

**TG: YoU mOtHeRfUcKiN LiKe ThIs GuY.**

**CG: YOU ARE MOTHERFUCKING KIDDING ME.**

**CG: HAHAHAHAHA.**

**CG: REAL FUCKING FUNNY.**

**CG: THANKS FOR FUCKING NOTHING.**

**carcinoGeneticist ****ceased trolling ****terminallyCapricious**

Karkat slammed his computer shut, glaring at it harder than usual. There was no fucking way he was attracted to that smiling idiot. He didn't do 'love'. All of that was bullshit. But then... why was he reacting so much to Gamzee simply suggesting it? Growling at his thoughts, the steaming man pushed away from his computer and stomped down to the kitchen, grabbing a snack before settling down to watch a movie from his vast collection. There was no fucking way he liked that dork. Not one.

* * *

**_Hi there lovelies!_**  
**_It is I! The Writer! _**  
**_Zoe, that is. _**  
**_I'd like to thank you for reading, and ask that if you enjoyed it (or not) please leave a review, they keep my life force going!_**


	2. The Boy at the Flower Shop: Part Two

Okay, so maybe he liked that dork a little bit, as it was the third night in a row that he was up thinking about him, and it was starting to get irritating. He had to do something about it. But what the hell was he going to do about it? He couldn't just walk back to that store and ask him on a date or anything..., could he? Was that something that people did? What if he wasn't even gay? What if he said no? What if he threw something at him!? Oh Gog, there were just way too many things that could go wrong! Curling up some more in his bed, Karkat held onto his pillow as if it was about to fly off as he watched one of his many rom-coms, hoping that maybe they would give him some sort of idea of how to go about this. It didn't seem to be working, though.

A week had passed now and he still couldn't figure out what to do, Karkat found himself wandering passed the little flower shop almost every day on the way to work, even if it was a little bit out of his way. Every time he passed he told himself that the boy had probably forgotten him by now; part of him wished that he could do the same.

Eventually, on one of his days off, Karkat wandered over as he usually did, telling himself that he was on the way to the coffee shop across the street, when he decided to actually go back into the flower shop again. The boy probably wasn't even working anyway, he told himself; he was just going in to get some flowers to stick in his room or some shit. No problem. Nothing out of the ordinary about that. As he walked in, Karkat forced himself to keep his eyes on the flowers, looking for some that stood out; that was... until he heard a hauntingly familiar voice.

"Hey! I remember you! You're the really grumpy guy who demanded violets!" Karkat whipped his head around at those words, staring up at John with wide eyes for a moment, scowl meeting a goofy grin, before Karkat turned, grunting slightly... Though inside there was a huge burst of emotions. He had remembered him! How had he remembered? There had to have been at least-

"Oh, hey..., sorry. I didn't mean anything bad...; sometimes I don't think before I speak, it's just nice to see a customer, especially a familiar one! We haven't had any for a while," John puffed, looking over the shop for a moment before back to Karkat, who had his hopes crushed a little... So that was why he remembered, just because he had been the only one in here for forever... He managed not to show his disappointment though.

"Uh..., so anyway! Hi! I'm John!" The bucktoothed teen grinned, sticking out a hand which Karkat slowly took, giving a small shake before taking his back and shoving it into his pocket, glaring up at John for a good moment before speaking up.

"My name is Karkat," he stated simply, it was really all he could manage before he stomped off, supposedly to go look for whatever he had come in for, leaving John wondering if he had said something wrong, and frowning a little as he made his way back to the cash register, perching himself on the stool there and leaning his head against his hand as he watched Karkat wander about the store. The way he stomped around was kind of adorable; John couldn't rip his eyes away for some reason..., the other man was just... alluring, somehow... in a totally heterosexual way, of course.

Karkat, forcing himself to sift through the flowers, did feel the eyes on him a little, but he didn't dare look over...; eventually just settling on getting a small sunflower, he took it over to the counter. He carefully put the pot down and reached into his pocket for the cash to pay for it, only to accidentally drop the movie tickets that Sollux had given him for tonight, to repay him for the flowers. Not noticing though, he handed the cash over to John, and turned to leave when the employee noticed the dropped tickets.

"Hey Karkat, you dropped these- holy shit, are these for the new Nic Cage movie!? Those are all sold out! Luuuuucky!" John seemed just in complete awe of the movie tickets, and Karkat couldn't help a small smile that crept up onto his face as he smoothly walked over and took his tickets back... So, this John boy liked movies? That really only made him want to get all the more closer to him. Karkat got an idea; glancing at the tickets slightly, he shifted a little nervously before sending a hard stare back towards John.

"I have an extra ticket, I suppose I could bear dragging your dorky ass along with me." Karkat grunted, managing to pull off sounding a little pissed off about it, but of course that just flew over John's head anyway, who's smile grew tenfold. It was getting to the point where Karkat was starting to think that it was going to consume his whole fucking face. Next thing he knew it would be just all smile and two giant ass buckteeth staring at him instead of those adorable oceanic eyes... Oh shit, how did those thoughts get there? Just as a small blush was rising on his cheeks, he tuned to John giving a rather nerdy cheer and nodding.

"Fuck yes! I can't wait!" He practically squealed, and the smaller teen could have sworn that the boy's voice went up an octave or two, but he didn't comment, just stating the time and that they could meet a little before to make sure that they got good seats. Heading back home to get ready, Karkat was grinning pretty wide to himself... So, maybe it wasn't technically a date, but it was one step closer, and now maybe he could get some fucking sleep or something! Hopefully not during the movie, though.

Getting home in half the time it usually took him, Karkat began the search for something to wear, feeling a little bit like a teenage girl..., which he soon got angry at himself for even thinking of making that comparison, and instead settled on a simple sweater and jeans like he usually wore. Having stuck his flower on the dining room table, Karkat tidied up just a bit, as he had told John to meet him here a bit before the movie, before sitting himself down and trying to stop his nerves, and cover up his excitement a little bit before the other teen arrived.

As he waited, he fiddled with the tickets a little bit, glad that Sollux had managed to grab two, though he had no idea why he would of..., other than the fact of his weird obsession with the number two. That was probably it. Either way, he couldn't keep his thoughts focused on much of anything other than the fact that he was going to be seeing a movie, with the boy he had been losing sleep from for almost two weeks, and that just a few hours ago didn't even know the name of.

That all sounded a little odd..., but holy shit he was going out with John.

... More or less.

* * *

_**Did you enjoy the second chapter?**_  
_**Hope you did!**__**Dont forget to drop me a line, if you want I mean, it's not like I bite!**_

_much._

_**~Zoe (The Writer) **_


	3. They Probably Went to See Ghost Rider: S

Karkat was more or less having a panic attack as he forced himself to sit still on the living room couch, waiting for John to ascend the stairs and knock at the door. Compulsively checking the time, the boy glared over at the clock; it was five minutes past the time they were supposed to meet. Maybe John had ditched him? Starting to get worried for an all new reason, the grump of a man practically jumped a foot in the air when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Oh holy shit. He was actually there. Outside his door. About to go see a movie with him.

Swallowing hard, gathering his bravery, and smoothing down his shirt a little, Karkat moved to the door. He unlocked it and swung it open. He glared up at John with a forced scowl.

"You're late, fuckass," he huffed, stepping aside to let a slightly out of breath John in, who was sputtering something about the elevator not working and that there were a shit ton of stairs. Rolling his eyes, Karkat just shuffled to the fridge, throwing a bottle of water at him and checking the time.

"We should get going if we want to actually get semi decent seats," Karkat huffed, seeming more angry and annoyed than usual, though it was likely because he was trying to shove away that giddy, rolling feeling in his gut. Not giving John time to answer, the shorter man simply grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the apartment, slamming the door shut and heading down the stairs again.

Soon enough the two were heading away from the apartment building to the new cinema, John chatting lightly the whole time, where the other man was much more silent, until a topic came up that pissed him off and he spewed out a rant, making John grin all the more. It was pretty adorable. A man could call another man adorable without it being, like, gay..., right? Sure, John decided, of course! He was doing that just then, so there was totally not a thing to be worried about.

Getting to the movie theatre at last, Karkat was filled with a different kind of excitement. He really did like seeing movies, especially new ones, and now he had someone to watch them with as well. In his excitement, a small smile slipped passed his lips, and he grabbed onto John's hand without a thought, tugging him down to the food stand, parking himself down, and finally freeing the other boy's hand, who had a look of complete shock on his face.

"What the fuck are you looking at me like that for? Cock blower, you walk slower than a haemorrhaging snail, I had to get you over here somehow," Karkat huffed, though he was blushing ever so slightly when he realized what he had done, so instead he distracted himself by shoving his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, getting some popcorn and a drink. John just got some gushers. Why the theatre had them; he had no idea. They then made their way over to the theatre they were supposed to be in.

Both boys seemed to be very riled up for the movie, eagerly settled into their seats, even though they were at least twenty minutes early. They started to chat on about movies that they liked, though it mostly involved Karkat bad mouthing almost all of the movies that John liked, just for the Hell of it. Not that he really hated them that much; he just had to make up for what he had done before. Though John pouted about it, he didn't mind too much really, it was just the way the other man was.

As the movie started, the two silenced at last, gazing up at the large screen with wide eyes, completely focused on the movie... Well, that was of course what John thought. He, being the oblivious boy he was, was grinning stupidly up at the movie. Or at least that's what Karkat would call it, as he stared up at him, really finding him more interesting than the movie. The way he would laugh at certain points, just the look of his eyes, everything really!

Having to snap his vision back to the movie occasionally to make sure that he wasn't caught, Karkat thought about trying something on John. He really almost did, but was scared off. What if he didn't even like guys!? Frowning even more when the credits rolled down and the movie was over, he jumped slightly when John spoke up.

"Awe, you didn't like it? I thought it was great!" he pouted a bit, slowly getting up and stretching out, cracking a joint or two as he waited for Karkat, who just glared some more. Fucking dense ass, really attractive, adorable boy. Why did he even offer to take him?

"It was less than great, maybe average, there could have been a lot more focus on the romances; that would have made it better," Karkat finally huffed, getting up as well and heading out of the theatre with the usual stomp to his step. He supposed that went well enough... He did get to hold John's hand briefly.

He was never washing that hand again.

* * *

_**Hi friendos!**_  
_**Zoe here (The Writer)**_  
_**Another huge thanks from me and Chisel for taking the time to read this!**_  
_**We do hope you're enjoying it, and if you have any ideas or things, or even pairings that you want in the fic, do not be afraid to let us know!**_  
_**We will get back to you ASAP.**_  
_**A new chapter should be out soon,**_  
_**Lots of love, **_  
_**Zoe (and Chisel)**_


	4. Homoerotic Antics

Okay, so Karkat did actually end up washing that hand right when he got home. He ended up grabbing onto a railing on the way up the stairs, and there was just some real gross shit on that thing. Did someone just slide their naked ass down the pole? Who would do that? Fuck, that's gross. There were obviously some really disgusting shits in this apartment building. That, or maybe someone had mud on their hand while going up, or something, he didn't know.

As a few weeks went by, Karkat had managed to grab John's number and handle for Pesterchum, and soon ended up chatting with him after work almost every day. It seemed to be making the shorter man feel oddly happy, and a little less snippy..., only a little.

John seemed to be over the Moon with his new friend, but when was he not over the Moon with things? He was more than amused with the other man's crabby behaviour, and really was looking for another excuse for them to get together, in order to deepen their completely platonic friendship. Oh wait, whoa, what was that in the paper? The fair was in town!? Oh, fuck yes! They were so going there, as his friend Dave would say, for completely ironic purposes!

Logging into Pesterchum a little too excitedly, obviously, as he misspelled his username at least three times before he got in and clicked on Karkat's username, promptly spamming his chat.

**carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]****began trolling ectoBiologist ****[EB]**

**EB: KARKAT.**

**EB: KARKAAAAAAAAT.**

**EB: KARKLES.**

**EB: KARKITTY.**

**EB: KARKAT.  
EB: KAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR.**

**CG: OH HOLY FUCK WHAT DO YOU WANT?  
CG: WHAT THE HELL HAS GOT YOUR DICK IN A TWIST THIS TIME!?**

**CG: DID YOU EAT A POUND OF YOUR FRUIT GUSHERS... AGAIN?**

**EB: what? no!**

**EB: but that was amazing... man.**

**EB: anyway!**

**EB: there's a fair in town.**

**EB: we're going.**

**CG: NO.**

**EB: yes.**

**CG: WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT TO GO TO A FAIR!?**

**EB: because!**

**EB: there's going to be cotton candy.**

**EB: and spinning rides.**

**EB: and i'm pretty sure there's going to be mini putt too.**

**EB: i've never played that before.**

**EB: aaaaaaaah!**

**EB: i want to go now!**

**EB: come on Karkles!**

**EB: let's goooooooo!**

**CG: FUCK.**

**CG: FINE, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP.**

**CG: AND STOP FUCKING CALLING ME KARKLES.****  
****CG: WHAT THE DICK TWIDDLING FUCK KIND OF NAME IS THAT ANYWAY!?**

**EB: yay!**

**EB: okay i'll be at your house in an hour!**

**CG: WAIT WE'RE GOING RIGHT NOW?**

**ectoBiologist ****[EB]****ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]**

**CG: WAIT.**

**CG: FUCK, JOHN.**

**CG: I'M NOT EVEN FUCKING DRESSED.  
CG: SHIT.**

John, oblivious of Karkat as ever, rushed to get things ready to head out. Soon, having his wallet and things, he was rushing out of his house and down the streets towards Karkat's apartment. Getting there a bit early, John eagerly knocked on the door. Rocking on his feet a little as he waited for it to open, with a big dorky grin on his face, the boy was a little surprised when not Karkat, but his roommate Sollux answered, frowning down at him for a moment. Obviously he was woken by John; he was more than likely gaming all of last night.

"Hey. John, right? He's in the shower, should be out soon," Sollux stated, his lisp thicker than ever; John had to hide an even bigger grin because of it, and instead just nodded. John stepped in as the other man moved from the door to head back to his room, which was more than likely.

Going to settle on the couch, John was still very much riled up and ready to go, almost bouncing around as he heard the shower stop and some stomping around before Karkat emerged in just a towel, his hair still a little damp and clearly not expecting John to be right smack there. Freezing slightly when he did see him just lounging on the couch, the grump seemed to just stare dumbfounded. Karkat turned a rather bright red, and ran off to his room to get dressed, leaving a slightly confused John in his wake.

Wait, why was Karkat blushing? He was just topless..., and why could he feel his own face burning? They were just friends! Two guys! Who cared if they saw each other topless? It happened all the time when swimming and stuff! John was confused, and he didn't like it, so he quickly pushed it out of his mind, hopping up and practically buzzing around.

"Come on, Karkat! Why are you taking so long? Let's goooooooo already," he called through the bedroom door that the other man had dashed into, jumping back just in time as the door slammed open to show a very angry Karkat glaring up at him. Hah. That was oddly adorable. In a completely non-homosexual, friendly way of course.

"LET'S GO, PCHOOOOO!" John practically yelled, grabbing Karkat's wrist and tugging him out of his own house. The other man cursed loudly as he was dragged along, but eventually the two both calmed down a bit, heading out and catching a cab over to the fair. John practically beamed as he made his way in; Karkat looked much less thrilled, but on the inside he was more than thrilled that he was going to a fair, with John. At a fair. WITH JOHN. They were going to eat cotton candy, and go on the Ferris wheel and... maybe THINGS WOULD HAPPEN?

"Karkat, come teach me how to play mini-putt! I mean, you should know how to play, what with how short you are," John called from a little ways away.

Karkat was going to fucking kill this dork.

* * *

**_Hi friendos!_**  
**_Hope you like this chapter! More fun things will be happening in the next, and after that? Oooooh that's when the real good stuff happens._**  
**_And there SHOULD be a chapter out each week, so keep your eyes open lovelies!_**  
**_Thanks for reading, hope to hear from you guys~!_**  
**_Lotsa love,_**  
**_Plushies (Zoe) _**


	5. More Homoerotic Antics

Stomping over to where John was lined up to pay for a round of the little golfing game, Karkat seemed to realize something about halfway there that more than likely spared John's life. Moving to stand behind the other boy, his mind was racing over all the movies that he had watched before this moment..., and he had watched a lot, so his brain was working faster than Sollux's hyped up on twenty cans of Red Bull. Actually putting the rom-coms he nearly slaved over to collect to use for once (other than counselling his pathetic friend's love lives), Karkat had an idea; a very good idea indeed.

Staying mostly quiet, save for a grumble or two whenever John brought up Karkat's height. Come on, he was only a few inches... Six... Maybe a head... shorter than John... SHUT UP. Karkat waited in line, glaring at the ground slightly with his arms crossed over his chest, looking pretty darn cute, John thought in a completely no-homo-enforced way. Finally getting their little golf clubs and colourful balls, Karkat made his way down to the first mini course. Putting the ball so that it climbed up the little hill, past the stupid rainbow windmill, and stopping at a gnome that seemed to stare into your soul every time you glanced at it. The truly shorter of the two stepped aside, glaring up at John to make his move.

"Wow John. Just wow. How did you even manage to do that? Like how can you be so terrible at something that _children _play? How is that even possible? It's a putter, not a baseball bat!" It didn't take long for Karkat to react to John's hit at all. Well, seeing as he shot the ball practically to the other end of the course, how could he not? John on the other hand, really hoped that he could have... Of course, that just wasn't the case. Blushing ever so slightly, the young man gave a bit of a chuckle, soon running off to get the ball back, he seemed to be getting very good at just ignoring Karkat..., though once or twice a few of the things the other man said did kind of hurt. John was sure that he didn't mean it though, at least he hoped.

"Well then, grumpy, why don't you show me how? Seeing as you seem to be the, 'Oh-so great champion leader of mini-putting,'" John smirked a little at that, or at least he tried to, but it just seemed to turn into yet another one of his goofy smiles. Karkat, on the other hand, did give a damn good smirk at that, remembering his plan and seeming to puff up a bit proudly.

"Why the fuck do you say it like that? I am the grand champion of mini-putting and I WILL show you how it's done, as you seem to be functioning just about as well as a one legged giraffe with a depth perception issue," Karkat huffed back, soon moving closer to John. Okay..., right. Here it goes, just going to... Right. Karkat wouldn't normally psych himself up to doing something like this, but in this case he was crushing on his friend harder than a boulder on top an egg. Karkat carefully put a hand over John's, possibly being a little too rough, to make up for his cheeks starting to burn a good bit. He moved John's arms to properly hold the club, assuming the position of a slight hug around the other man, while at the same time standing himself up on the tips of his toes to be able to see over his shoulder. Moving John's arms to gently hit the ball over the tiny hill, past the rainbow windmill, and creeper gnome, Karkat jumped back when suddenly the taller man gave a loud, happy, cheer as the ball rolled into the hole.

"HOLE IN ONE! HAH!" John cried out happily, louder than he usually already was, mainly to try to surprise Karkat into backing off a bit, which worked. Thankfully. Really it wasn't that John didn't like it, it was the opposite actually... He really did like it... a little too much. Why did he like the other man so close like that? Maybe because he was warm. Yeah..., that had to be it! Definitely not anything more than that! How could it be more than that? He wasn't gay, and neither was Karkat! So why did the shorter man still have a blush on his cheeks? Maybe he was getting a sunburn, or something. John decided to go with that, even though the sky was pretty well clouded over..., and it was the middle of fall.

Karkat on the other hand, almost toppling back from the sudden shout, scoffed slightly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He had a taste of being near the other man, and now he only wanted more..., but how could he do that anyway? John seemed to be rather skittish, and Karkat still wasn't too sure if he was interested in that kind of thing. Maybe another plan would present itself in due time? He wasn't sure, but instead he swore and grumbled slightly that John's hole in one shouldn't count as technically he did it, and went about finishing their game, marking the cards.

Going forth to explore the rest of the carnival when they finished their game, Karkat seemed to have gotten bored part way through it and just let John win. They soon found their way to a little area with picnic tables, and settled down with some cotton candy. It was getting a little dark out, and to be honest, Karkat was getting pretty worn out of rides that went much too fast. He was happy to be able to slouch over the table, picking at the questionably edible fluff by his hand, when suddenly there was a shrill ringing from the phone in his pocket.

Scrambling to pull out the old worn out flip phone that was making the awful noise, Karkat managed to check the number before hitting answer. It was Gamzee. Who knew what to expect whenever he called? Karkat certainly didn't really expect what came next, though it wasn't one of his stranger calls, thankfully.

"Hey my motherfuckin' bro, wanna come to a party?" Gamzee's deep, gravelly voice asked through the phone. Really, there was no way that 'no' was going to be an acceptable answer to this.

* * *

_**Okay, so I was rather late on this one.**_  
_**A week late to be exact.**_  
_**Sorry about that... got sick and just procrastinated the shit out of it all.**_  
_**Sooo I shall try not to do that again!**_

_**Thank you to all the lovely reviewers! Keep them coming please! I need them to stay motivated and such! **_

_**Lotsa love,**_  
_Plusheis! _

_(ps. I'm not sorry for all the cliffhangers)_

**Who would have known that mini-putt could be so intimate?**

-_Chisel_


	6. An Invitation from the Faygo-Man

By the end of that lovely phone call that lasted at least thirty minutes longer than it should have..., or at least that was what it felt like to Karkat, he felt like smashing his face into the table he was still sitting at with John. He was watching with mild interest as his friend seemed to curse slightly into the phone in a surprisingly hushed voice before slamming the device down..., and then his head as well, making the taller young gent jump slightly.

"Uhhh..., Karkat..., you okay there buddy?" John asked, a little tentatively, finding only a muffled groan in response. Watching in avid amusement as the messy haired man just seemed to grumble to himself, though John was getting more and more curious as to what had set him off on the phone. He was getting a little bit worried, actually. Thankfully though, he wasn't kept waiting long as Karkat seemed to come alive in a burst once more, looking rather peeved.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT ALL," he roared in a rather loud voice, making a few strangers' heads turn to them, not that Karkat cared at all, though it did make John blush ever so slightly, hoping that there were no kids around to hear that little outburst, or to hear whatever colourful language was coming next. John was a little afraid to ask what went on in that phone call of his. Sure, Karkat had a bit of a thing about ever reacting..., but... you never really knew what to expect when you did find out what he was reacting to, John was starting to discover.

"Karkat! Shoosh! There're little kiddies around..., and elderly... What's going on, anyway?" John decided to bite the bullet before Karkat started up on his creative language again and forever scar more children..., and their parents.

"Don't shoosh me, you dickwad!" Well, it appeared John had made it slightly worse..., but at least it wasn't as loud..., and it seemed Karkat did ease down a little as he groaned slightly, frowning a little deeper than he usually did. "My pothead of a friend apparently needs to see me as soon as possible..., with something about a party? He better just be having a bad trip, there is no way I'm going to one of his stupid ass parties confirmed to destroy at least half of your brain cells with its sheer idiocy... again," Karkat spewed out, making John wonder how on Earth he said that in one breath.

"Parties can be kind of fun though, even if they're full of stupid, it's kind of funny to watch all the people get drunk and be silly," John stated innocently, earning himself a nice glare from Karkat.

"You've never been to a party, have you?" He asked blandly, watching as John blushed and looked down guiltily... God that boy was adorable, Karkat thought to himself, as he found himself enthralled with the other man once again, he could hardly keep his eyes off the apparent heterosexual.

"Uhhh..., no," the taller of the two young men stated softly, all through high school he had been too much of..., well..., a dork, to be invited to any parties... Karkat really wasn't any different through his high school years either but somehow he had managed to become friends with a guy called Gamzee, whose parents were chronically absent when he was a teen, and took joy in throwing parties that could rival those of the Great Gatsby himself.

As Karkat calmed down a good bit, the two boys decided that they were bored of the fair, and John insisted that the other man go visit his friend already, as it was getting dark now. Bussing back into town together, Karkat found himself walking his buck tooth friend back to his respective apartment, pausing at the door with him after saying their goodbyes, and from some act of God, John pulled Karkat in a quick hug before bouncing off, thanking him for going to the fair with him, and heading up into his house, leaving a frozen Karkat in the street.

When he came to his senses, Karkat couldn't help a small smile, moving down the street once more, this time towards the bus again, heading to the richer part of town to go see his friend who apparently needed to see him post haste.

Thankfully it didn't take too long to get to Gamzee's house, though the Sun was starting to set, and Karkat was more than a little tired, making him a good bit more grumpy than usual. Banging on the druggy's door, he shouted for Gamzee to open up already, probably bugging some of his neighbors..., not that he cared at this point. He just wanted to know why he was dragged all the way out here to discuss some party that might not even be a thing. There was a good chance that Gamzee was just so high he was making shit up again, after all, he hadn't had one of his parties since high school, about two years ago now.

When the door did open, Karkat was surprised to see Gamzee more or less sober and happy as per usual, as he was welcomed in, hugged, and basically given more attention than what he wanted from a man that had a constant smell of pot on him. Did he shampoo in the stuff?

Led to the living room, Gamzee sat his friend down in one of the overly large arm chairs, and plopped down in the other one, smiling widely. "Hey, my motherfuckin' buddy," he practically purred in that deep voice of his, making Karkat twitch impatiently, especially when he heard what he said next. "So, why have you graced me with your miraculous presence?" He chuckled out, making Karkat want to just punch him in that smiling face..., which he almost did.

"What in the fucking Hell do you mean? You invited me here, you shit-sponge," Karkat huffed, giving him a glare that could set a nun on fire. Somehow, though, it didn't seem to faze Gamzee at all as the insanely tall man just seemed to laugh, nodding, and remembering the phone call once more. Almost everyone who knew Gamzee could swear that the man's head had been permanently brain damaged from all the drugs he had done as a teen and now as a young adult.

"Oh! That's right, how could I motherfucking forget?" Gamzee chuckled, seeming to think for a moment as he remembered why exactly he had invited the other man over..., but when he did remember, he grinned wildly once more. "I wanted to let you know first, in motherfucking person, that I am throwing a party for a very special occasion, and I would be fuckin' honoured if you would come and join us in celebration."

Karkat was a little floored that so many big words left Gamzee's mouth, but he was quick to snap out of it, groaning slightly, "What the fuck are you talking about? What celebration!? It better be 'motherfucking' grand to make me even think of dragging myself over to some steaming pile of shit head soiree you're going to have going on," he snapped back, getting rather vicious..., though he knew that he was probably going to be forced to attend anyway. His only hope would be that Gamzee would just forget that he invited him in the first place.

Gamzee, as per usual, unfazed by Karkat's language, just smiled all the more. "It's a motherfuckin celebration of miracles, bro," he droned for a moment, and just as his crabby old friend was about to spew out something with all the more creative language, he spoke up again. "The biggest miracle I have ever seen, happened to me recently... Tavros said motherfucking yes to marrying me, and of course I thought..., 'Well, this deserves a motherfucking celebration!' So here we are, my friend, planning a party celebrating motherfucking miracles... You could even bring a date, maybe that boy you were speaking about, the flower shop bro," he stated calmly, Karkat only now noticing a ring on his finger... Huh.

Blushing ever so slightly at the mention of John, Karkat started thinking... John had never been to a party before, and usually Gamzee's could be rather wild... Who knows what would happen? Finally agreeing that he would be there, Gamzee seemed ecstatic; he offered Karkat a Faygo a few times before he finally managed to get home at last, collapsing in bed and grinning slightly himself, taking out his phone and not really giving a flying fuck about the current time. Dialing up John, he suddenly felt a burst of nerves when he heard the other male's sleepy voice.

"Karkat, it's pas-"

"Hey John, shut up, I know the time. Gamzee's having a party, he's getting married or some other ridiculous piece of frothing loony block nonsense, and uh... _he _wanted to know if you wanted to go...," Karkat stated, seeming to chicken out to asking him to go himself... Not even thinking about the fact that he hadn't even bothered to explain how Gamzee even knew about John...

He just wanted to hear if John was willing to go, if he had another odd more or less 'date'.

* * *

**_Hello friendos._**

**_My deepest apologies for the long wait, lots of events happened._**

**_Hope this makes up for it though!_**

**_Enjoy and keep up the reviews! I'd love to hear any ideas you have, constructive criticism, anything! _**

**_Thank you for reading!  
_**

**_-Plushies_**

**_GamTav until I die._**

**_-Chisel_**


	7. John's Shitty Honda Civic

"Karkat! It's one in the morning, I have work tomorrow! Why would you call me, why could this not wait until morning? Did you change the ringer on my cell when you put your number in? It is the most aggravating thing; swear to God, it's worse than your voice!" John seemed to be a tad grumpy being woken up at ungodly hours in the morning, what a weirdo.

"John, shut the fuck up for a minute, okay?" Karkat sighed, for once a little mild in his speech. So maybe he was a little tired from the whole day as well, he was only just finally getting home, but that didn't really diminish his slight everlasting spite in his speech. The other boy actually seemed to start to listen; silence rang out on the other end of the line.

"Wow, you actually listened; don't fucking fall asleep either, all right?" The loud mouthed prick stated over the phone, a little worried that the silence _did _mean that John had drifted off, but he heard a few grumbles from the other end and just went on. "If you want to sleep so badly, then just agree already! The party is next week; don't make me go to the 'miracle' mass moron gathering alone, I need someone to suffer with me!" He complained in a hushed tone to John. This guy can really rant and rave, can't he? John wasn't so certain initially on going to the party, maybe it was because the bitch-ass on the other end of the line had decided to invite him at one in the morning on a work night. Might as well just agree to go so that he can get back to sleep.

"Okay, fine, all right! I'll go to the stupid party or whatever. Now, can I go to bed?" John huffed, not sure if he regretted this decision to go or not. It probably won't be all that bad. It's not like he got invited to parties often, or at all really, so why not go? John would be there with Karkat too, even better. Just two platonic buddies hanging out at a gay couple's pre-wedding party. Absolutely nothing can go wrong, or even right. It'll just be a really average evening. Completely and totally uneventful.

"Oh, uh, sweet. Err, cool, I mean. Thanks. Uh…, okay good night," the boisterous little man was somewhat surprised that his man crush had given in so easily. It might be because he called at one in the morning. Karkat had stumbled on his words, trying desperately to determine what the appropriate reaction was. Were they even at the mutual good night stage of friendship, or is that just a tad bit too forward?

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me more movie tickets for this, man. Good night," John just barely managed to get that response out before quickly hanging up, putting his phone on standby, slamming it graciously onto the nightstand, and letting his head fall into the pillow. The other boy would do the exact same thing on the opposite side of town. The bitter little man softened for a moment in his heart. John said, "Good night," to him. John, this dumb boy who works at a flower shop; this boy who is a total dork and a loser, and yet he's able to make Karkat's heart flutter just from the simple notion of being said, "Good night," to. The man who usually had a frown on his face as he drifted off into unconsciousness, let a legitimate smile creep across his face as he gently shut his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Karkat almost felt like he had slept the whole week away, it was all an eager blur really; though when it came to the end of each day, the grump was a huge mix of emotions, feeling almost like the day of the party was coming up much too fast; although, at the same time the week dragged on and on. It was a little overwhelming when the day finally did come. He had taken the day off from the low position office job he had gotten for this party, making it a long weekend. It was nice to have a Friday off again. He hadn't had one since high school…, and being jobless.

Karkat found himself slightly lost when he did wake up and found he had to get ready. For once he wanted to impress John, digging around his closet looking for something that wasn't his usual oversized sweater or long sleeved shirt. Eventually settling on a plain black shirt, a pair of skin-tight jeans, and a gray zip up hoodie, he fussed at himself in the mirror for a good while, trying to tame his messy hair a little before just giving up and going to check the time…, only to hear the doorbell ring. Had it already been two hours? Oh God. He couldn't do this, he could not do this! John was waiting at that door, ready to go to this party; they might even get drunk! What if he did something stupid? Biting his lip, and almost drawing blood, Karkat finally caved, heading towards the door.

Thanking whatever strange being might be out there that propelled him to finally open the door, the troll like man seemed completely floored for just a moment, his jaw even dropping slightly when he got a look of John. He was dressed in a pair of dark coloured jeans, and a plain white t-shirt, but what topped it all off was the royal blue vest he had over it, and the ever so slightly matching dressy light jacket of the same colour. By golly he looked brilliant, appearing so tall and slim. It was driving Karkat even more possibly mad than he already was.

"So, uh, you never told me the dress code for this party. I hope this isn't too much," John pouted ever so slightly, adjusting his glasses a bit as he looked over the boy in front of him; he wasn't as dressed up, no, but it was nice to see him in something that was at least a little bit more tight fitting, and he pulled it off damn well… Why was he thinking about it so much? John, stop that.

"It should be fine, if not, you could always take some off," Karkat huffed, smiling at that in his head. He was so clever. After a little bit more chit chat, they were on their way to the party. John managed to get his… rather crappy looking Honda Civic up and running, after being out of commission for about a month. Loading up into that, they were soon on their way, a certain buzz of excitement came off the closer and closer they got to Gamzee's house, Karkat pretty well shouting the directions at John until they were right at the door, being greeted by a timid looking man in a wheelchair, inviting them in with a shy smile.

Let the party begin.

* * *

_**Well this chapter was supposed to go up yesterday, but was down... SO HERE IT IS TODAY.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

_**~Plushies**_


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